smith folger



(No Model.)

A. S. POLGER.

' Evaporator. No. 242,822. Patented June 14, 188k UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIc.

A. SMITH FOLGER, OF XVASHINGTON, IOWA.

EVAPORAT O R.

SPECIFICATION f ormin g part of Letters Patent No. 242,822, dated June 14, 1881. Application filed February 8, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, A. SMITH FOLGER, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Washington, in the county of Washington and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Evaporators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for evaporating sorghum-juice and other saccharine substances, in which the juice is treated in a succession of separate compartments, and in which the scum is automatically directed to a given point for removal, and the objects of my improvements are, first, to provide a cover for the first evaporatin g-compartment which shall automatically collect the scum which arises upon the surface of the juice while in that compartment and direct it to a point from which it may be removed or allowed to flow out of the compartment, said cover having an open space in it, to which the scum is directed for removal; second, to provide the remaining compartments of the device with hinged covers, for the purpose of preventing insects or dirt from falling into them when in use; third, to provide certain combinations and arrangements of the parts necessary to the operation of the device. I attain these objects by the construction and combination of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing an evaporator with my improvements attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on line 00 wof Fig. 1,showing the furnace, the flue for the escape of the products of combustion, the position of three of the evaporating-compartments, and their covers, and also an arrangement of parts for preventing the rapid destruction of the front ends of the rear compartments; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line y y of Fig. 1.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views. T

In constructing an evaporator of thekind illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which is designed as an improvement upon the one for which Letters Patent No. 226,395 were issued to A. L. and A. S. Folger, on the 13th of April, 1880, there is provided a compartment, A, which is made of copper, iron, or other suitable metal, and of such dimensions as may be required, it being provided with upwardlyprojecting flanges of wood or other suitable material for retaining the juice within it. For the purpose of collecting the scum that rises from thejuice which is admitted to this oompartment through a pipe,or in any other suitable manner, and directing it to a point where it may be removed, or where it may be allowed to flow off into a strainer or other receptacle,

there is placed over said compartment a cover, A, which, in the present case, consists of parts A, A, A and A the rear one, A being inclined downward, as shown, so as to cause its rear edge torest upon or to come nearly in contact with the bottom plate of compartment A, the object being to prevent the escape of steam at that point, and so cause it to-force the scum, as it rises, toward the forward end of said compartment, where it is allowed to flow off, or is removed, and thus cause the skimming to be automatically performed. In

front of the plates A are placed two or more plates, A A, they being hinged together, as shown,'so that they may be folded together when it is desirable to examine the condition of the juice in the pan, or when it is necessary to clean the same. These plates or covers, as well as those designated by theletters A and A rest upon ledges formed on the sides of the compartment A, the front one,A and also the one A which is next to it, being cut away, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for the. purpose of en abling the operator to observe the condition of the juice in the compartment under them, and to aid the scum in passing to its'point of discharge, if necessary. The front plate, A, is curved downward, so that it comes nearly or quite down to the bottom of the compartment, the object being to prevent any scum from flowing over the front thereof, and also to aid in directing it to the point of delivery.

For receiving the scum and such portion of 100 the juice as may pass out of the compartment with it there is placed by the side of compartment A a receiver, A, the bottom of which is about on a level with the bottom of A, but

which is separated therefrom by an upwardly= juice in the compartment, but to allow the scum to pass over it into A upon the rear end of which there is placed a strainer, A the rear end of which is elevated, as shown in Fig. 1, it being so arranged that the scum can flow over it and the juice pass through it into receiver A, from which it can be drawn off into a suitable vessel or caused to flow back into the evaporator.

In the rear of compartment A there is placed a transverse and intermediate evaporating- ,compartment, B, which is made to communicate with A by means of a filter, B, which is divided into two parts by a vertical partition, and so arranged with reference to the compartments A and B that it receives the partiallyevaporated juice from the former through an aperture, B formed in the flange of A, and allows it to pass downward to the bottom of its smallest portion through thepartition which divides it from the other portion, and thence up through a perforated or wire-gauze diaphragm through an ysuitable filtering medium, and out through aperture B into campartment B, where it is further treated or evaporated, and passed automatically through a curved connecting-pipe, O, and into a longitudinal compartment, D, in which it isstill further treated, and from which it passes through an aperture, D, into the compartment D from which it is drawn off in its finished state through an aperture, D formed in the side wall or flange of said compartment.

The parts thus far described, with the exception of the covers or automatic skimmers placed in compartment A, do not vary essentially from those shown and described in the patent above referred to, and hence I do not claim them, broadly, or in the combinations there shown, but only as in combination with new devices herein described or their equivalents.

For the purpose of preventing flies, bees, and other insects, or any foreign substance from entering the juice while itis being evaporated the compartments B, D, and D are provided with covers E E, which are hinged to the walls of the different compartments, they being divided at their centers, where they are provided with hinges, so that in raisin g them up the forward parts thereof will fall down and rest upon the walls or flanges of the compartments, which will have the efi'ect to retain them in their open positions.

The covers E above referred to are, by preference, composed of wire-gauze or of perforated metal attached to proper iron frames, but they may be partly of sheet metal, as shown in Fig. 1, the advantage gained by making them of gauze or perforated metal being that when so constructed they afi'ord means for the escape of the steam arising from the juice which is being evaporated.

The compartments and other parts of an evaporator above described may be placed over or above any suitable form of furnace which is provided with the requisite dampers for controlling the heat under the different parts thereof, the one shown in the present example consistingof a space, F, in which thefuel is burned, it being provided with a grate, F, beneath which there is an ash-pit, F

From the space or furnace F there extends a flue, F which extends rearward for some distance, or until it reaches a point near the front ends of the compartments D D, where it is divided into two flues, which are designated by the letters G and G, said flues extending to the uptake G where they are provided with dampers G and G which serve to regulate the amount of heat allowed to pass under the compartments D and D as, if thedamper Gis closed, no considerable amountof heat can pass under the compartment D ,which is the one in which the material is finally treated, and it is important that the heat under it should be less at times than it is under the compartment D, which result can always be accomplished by closing or partially closing dam per G -and leaving G open, while the heat under the lastnamed compartment can be regulated byopening to a greater or less extent damper G I am aware that a Patent, No. 219,797, was granted to J. S. Blymyer on the 23d of September, l879,in which there is shown an evaporating-pan having a sectional hinged cone roverin g a portion of one of its compartments. I do not, therefore, claim any of the devices or combinations thereof there shown; but

Having thus described my invention, what I claim,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is V 1. The cover placed over the first evaporatin g-compartment of an evaporator, consisting of parts A A, hinged together, the rear portion, A having a downward slope, and the fixed curved portion A the parts being arranged substantially asset forth, and for the purpose specified.

IIO

2. The covers E, in combination with the compartments of an evaporator, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The arrangement of the portion A of the cover of the compartment A, it being as shown and described,whereby it is caused to operate as a check for the scum, thus preventing it from flowing over the wall of the evaporator, and is caused to aid in directing it toflthe point of delivery, substantially as described.

4. The arrangement .of the plate A of the cover of compartment A, it being as shown and described, whereby it is caused to aid in directing the scum arising from the material to the forward end of the compartment, substantially as described.

In tcstimonywhereofI affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

A. SMITH FOLGER. 

